Once every month, or before you embark upon long road trips, check your tires for wear and damage problems. One easy way to check for wear is by using the penny test. All you have to do is grab your spare change and follow 3 easy steps.
- Take a penny and hold Abe's body between your thumb and forefinger.
- Select a point on your tire where tread appears the lowest and place Lincoln's head into one of the grooves.
- If any part of Abe Lincoln's head is covered by the tread, you're driving with the legal and safe amount of tread. If your tread gets below that (approximately 2/32 of an inch), your car's ability to grip the road in adverse conditions is greatly reduced.
For more serious problems, try our easy-to-use online tire inspection tool below to help you identify issues and learn how to fix them. (And if you need new tires, there’s an easy-to-use Find a Tire Tool at the top of the page.)
TO MAKE SURE YOUR CAR'S TREAD IS ROAD-READY, DO THE PENNY TEST BELOW.
Frequently asked questions
BFGoodrich answers your most asked questions.
FAQ
Insert a penny into a tread groove with Lincoln's head pointing down into the tire. If any part of Lincoln's head is covered by the tread, you have a legal and safe amount of tread remaining. If you can see the top of his head, you are at or below 2/32 of an inch and the tire needs replacing. Check several grooves, since wear is rarely even.
Raised rubber bars molded into the bottom of the main tread grooves, set at 2/32 of an inch. When the tire was new they sat well below the tread surface. When the tread wears down level with these bars, the tire has reached its legal minimum and must be replaced. Look into the main circumferential grooves to find them.
2/32 of an inch is the legal minimum in most US states, marked by the treadwear indicators. But wet braking distance and hydroplaning resistance decline noticeably well before that. Many safety organizations recommend replacing at 4/32 if you drive in rain regularly, and deeper still where snow traction matters.
Cuts or gashes deep enough to expose the cord layer underneath. Cracking in the rubber, especially cracks that open when you flex the sidewall. Any bulge or bubble, which means the internal cords have broken and the tire can fail without warning. A bulge means replace immediately, do not drive on it.
No. Pulling it can turn a slow leak into rapid air loss and leave you stranded. If the tire is holding pressure, drive carefully to a tire professional and let them remove it and assess whether it is repairable. A tread puncture up to 1/4 inch away from the shoulder is usually repairable. A sidewall puncture never is.
Once a month at the same time you check pressure, and before any long trip. Also inspect after hitting a significant pothole or curb even if the tire is holding air, because impact damage to the internal structure is often invisible from outside and can fail later at highway speed.
Related pages
Related articles
-
How to Change a Flat Tire
Changing a flat on the roadside is straightforward if you have practiced once in a driveway first. Before you need it, confirm three things are actually in your vehicle and functional: a spare that holds pressure, a jack, and a lug wrench. Then know the sequence: get safely off the road, loosen lugs before lifting, lift at the correct jacking point, swap the wheel, and torque the lugs in a star pattern.View more -
How to Check Tire Pressure
Tires can lose up to 1 psi every month even with no puncture, so check all four plus the spare once a month or before any long trip. Buy a trusted gauge, check cold before driving or at least three hours after, insert the gauge onto the valve stem, and compare the reading to the psi on the sticker inside your driver's door or in your owner's manual. Never use the sidewall number as your target.View more -
Products To Care For Your Tires
Nothing makes a car look sweeter than a shiny set of tires. But don’t put your investment at risk by using just any cleaner. Make sure to only use acid-free products. A number of wheel cleaners may contain harsh acids, alkalis and/or detergents that can damage wheels and paint. However, there are products out there that are safe for all brands of tires as well as environmentally responsible. You can find them at an auto parts dealer near you.View more -
Tire Balancing
Balancing compensates for weight variation in the tire and wheel assembly after mounting. A wheel is out of balance when one area is heavier or lighter than the rest, which causes bouncing or wobbling at speed. That vibration decreases treadwear, increases stress on your vehicle, and makes for an unpleasant drive. The fix is straightforward: correction weights are added to counterbalance the assembly.View more -
Tire Alignment
Alignment is the adjustment of your vehicle's front and rear suspension components, and it has to be correct. If the alignment is off, the vehicle is not safe to drive. Three angles are adjusted: caster, camber, and toe. Misalignment scrubs tread away, pulls the vehicle to one side, and makes steering imprecise. Potholes and rough railroad crossings are the most common causes of alignment drift.View more -
Tire Rotation
Rotating your tires is not a gimmick. Tires wear at different rates depending on position, and moving them on schedule spreads that wear across all four instead of destroying two. BFGoodrich recommends rotating every 6,000 to 8,000 miles, or 10,000 to 12,000 kilometers, if your owner's manual does not specify a different interval. Rotate immediately at the first sign of irregular wear, even before that mileage.View more